South Korea opens first gold trading exchange

SEOUL--South Korea launched a gold trading exchange for the first time on Monday in a bid to help counter the country's burgeoning black market in the precious metal.

Smuggled gold is traded secretly through underground markets in South Korea and is used as an effective way to hide income and avoid tax.

“The gold spot market will help normalize the unregulated circulation of gold,” Shin Je-Yoon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said, vowing to step up a crackdown on black-market transactions.

Of the country's total gold trading volume — estimated at more than 100 tons annually — about 70 percent is traded illegally, according to Shin's office.

Currently eight securities firms and 49 dealers, importers and wholesalers are registered as members of the new gold bourse.

On the first trading session, a total of 5,987 grams of bullion worth 280 million won (US$259,000) were traded. One gram of bullion closed at 46,950 won, after rising to as high as 47,400 won at one point.